Thursday, December 31, 2009

Thank you so much, each one of you, for entering my little drawing yesterday. OK! Everyone wins! I have more than enough strings to send to all six of you. So each of you can have a little bit of my stash to work with. Enjoy! I will need each one of your addresses, and I will send them out. I may have a little list of you, connecting to your blogs, on my side bar...so we can all merrily string piece together during this next year and share each other's work. No pressure...just fun!!

Happiest New Year to each one of you...I am so blessed to have met so many wonderful people in the quilt blogging world.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Hi all! It is 9AM...and I drew a winner for the block kits from yesterday. Congratulations to Nancy, of With Thread in Hand. She was randomly drawn to receive the block kits.

How about another giveaway? I need volunteers for this one...people who would commit to making a heart strings quilt top and give it to the Heart Strings group, within the next year. I will give two bags of strings from my strings bin to two different people...but the catch is, you must make a quilt top from the strings and donate it! If you are willing to do this...please let me know, and I will give the bags of strings to two people...and will draw tomorrow at 9AM. I will give you the contact info for the Heart Strings group if you are drawn.

Thank you for your generosity of heart...I hope I get lots of responses to this giveaway!!! I understand if you have too many projects going...but this is such a great, worthwhile organization...lets help them!!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

I just loved doing the give-away I posted about yesterday, it was such fun to see who might be reading my blog and visiting all your blogs back! ...and the winner drawn from a bowl of tiny slips with each name written on it is: MARCIE at PATCH-ALOT!! She has a most wonderful blog...for a extra special treat, you should go for a visit... just click here. Thank you so much, each one of you for entering...it was fun! Let's do it again!! Hancock Fabric Store closed in our area, and I bought a bunch of block kits...I bought these long ago at the fabric store, and had high hopes of making something of them. It has been, ahem, a couple years...so maybe you can enjoy them, because I am obviously not getting anything done with them! They are not all the blocks in the series, and there are duplicates of blocks, but the fabric is all there. Just not block 1, block 2, block 3...instead there might be 3 of block 1, 2 of block 6, etc. But all the fabric of there, and if you are imaginative and can or would like to make something of these, just leave me a comment and you will be entered. The fabric colors are a pink, a polka dot tan, and two tone on tones, one light, one dark. Drawing tomorrow, at 9 AM!What a mess! But really, it is a good thing. I have been diligently cutting up all my scraps into usable units, like 1.5 inches, 2 inches, 2.5 inches, 3 inches and so on...strips and squares. The messy bin above is my 2 inch bin. There are both strips and squares in this one. Well....I decided for some fun and just mindless sewing, I would make 4 patches out of these squares. I made...one zillion 4 patches! Really, over 500. And I still have so many squares left! Anyway, below is...a few of the block laid out. SCRAPPY! I love it! I think I may put an alternate square of blue and make a scrappy happy quilt. What do you think?

Monday, December 28, 2009

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had a most marvelous Christmas! Above are some magazines I just succumbed to at the store...full of lovely projects, but...I have so many projects in the works, I have decided to give away the magazines! The Fons and Porter magazine is for January/February 2010, and the other one is for Winter of this year. This is a one day giveaway...so if you visit here, leave a comment and I will draw for them tomorrow at 9AM. The early bird gets the quilt mag!Just wanted to show you my pretty plaids that just came in the mail...they are from Mary at Quilt Hollow! You really should treat yourself and go visit Mary's blog...so click Here and have fun! Thank you so much Mary! I recently won her giveaway.

Happy New Year to all, if I don't get anything done to show you before then.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

I hope each one of you have such a wonderful day tomorrow! I have really enjoyed getting to know so many of you as great friends during this past year...thank you for that. May you have a marvelous Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!!

Friday, December 18, 2009

This stack is part of the Carolina Christmas mystery by Bonnie Hunter. I am going to finish these blocks...then wait for the border, still to come in the mystery. I have an idea I am not going to set mine together just like Bonnie...just to be different, I want to see what the border looks like, then I am going to play and see what I come up with. That way, if people all set their blocks together in different ways, there will be lots of variety and originality!!!

Hope every one is great...I worked on Christmas stuff a good deal today and have been quite busy. I work the weekend, so will be busy there too.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

I am so excited! Pat from www.alittleofthisandalittleofpat.blogspot.com sent me this absolutely wonderful bear paw block. It is all paper pieced, and finishes at 6 inches. It is so wonderful...thank you Pat! This will go into my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt. Now I have a block from Pat and a block from Lyn. This is so special to me. I so appreciate Pat doing this, and Lyn too!Wheewwwww!! Above are a whole bunch of blocks for Bonnie's Carolina Christmas mystery quilt. It has been a blast to do these blocks, and a welcome diversion from the holiday rush. Thank you Bonnie!And here is my progress on the next steps...included in these are some very precious fabrics, plaids and reds from my friend Joyce in Arizona...who is a new Grandma!! Thank you Joyce so much, I love my friendship with you!

**********************Nursing Notes*************************

I have been working a ton, too, to prepare for the holiday expenses, etc...we are busy, because lots of staff is out sick and at last we are getting out winter rush at the hospital.

May I tell you of a patient "James"...not his real name. He was a construction worker, and in the 1980's, he was roofing a house...and walked right off the roof. He broke his spine, at the thoracic level, and is a paraplegic. 20 years later, he has also had a stroke, which wiped out his left side...totally flaccid. So, he has his right arm...and a wonderful sense of self and gratitude. He has been married to his wife Roxanne (Roxie) for 50 years, and he tells each nurse how much he loves her and how special Roxie is. Well...I heard singing coming from his room, and there he was, belting out Christmas carols in a gravelly, gruff voice, and in between he would call out "Roxie, I love you"!! Well, Roxie was not there at the hospital...and about then I figured out he was not quite all there mentally, but almost...enough to call out to his wife an endearment. Well, he just kept on calling out, so all the nurses started saying outside the room, "I love you too, James"! He would quiet then and just sing. We loved having him! Not an ornery, cranky bone in his body...and what a lesson he taught me about grace under the most dire adversity. May I be just as sweet.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

HI Y'all! Remember the plaid quilt I was last working on before the Mystery Madness started in on me? I did not forget you, dear plaids...here is where I am at. I loved working on this quilt...I strayed pretty far from the original pattern, of which I only had a picture anyway. Since the sashing is an odd size, the pieced borders top and bottom did not fit...so I put in a tiny spacer on the ends. I like it! Do you see the red 1/2 square triangle, one in each corner? There are my husband's pajamas again! I have used that fabric in several projects so far. Hee!! Gotta use what you have, right?

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Above are my blocks for the Make Do Memories quilt challenge. Lyn, my friend in Australia, is saving these vintage blocks...several of her friends have been challenged to make a wall quilt by next spring...Fun! And so pretty. Above is my finished block...well, it is Pat's finished block for her Sylvia's Bridal Sampler quilt! She is gracious enough to help me with a hard block, so I did one for her. I like the way it turned out, and I have one identical for my SBS.Can you say Mystery Quilt, please? Here is part two, all ready...Bonnie Hunter's mystery from Quiltville.There is a story behind this postcard...I nearly lost it/tossed it! I was going through the stack of junk mail, and in between the pages of a circular was this lovely postcard. It is from Darcie at www.quiltingbydarcie.blogspot.com This is example of her amazing longarm quilting...I love it, and it is up on my bulletin board for all to admire. Thank you so much, Darcie!And more goodies! Above is a gift, an early Christmas present from Lyn, of www.bluebirdquilts-lyn.blogspot.com. I love it and it reminds so much of the Amish dolls I have seen. Thank you Lyn! She sells the pattern for this...her own design.Lyn also sent this vintage sewing kit, it is just wonderful. Awesome!

Can you say snow? Look at what we got this morning!! A skiff of snow, gone in minutes, but very pretty to see swirling down.The first of two dog quilts ordered up for Christmas for my grand-dogs...hope they like them! :)And working on part three of Bonnie's mystery!